BLEACH: Bonds of Family and of the Heart
by Shoulda'BeenBornAShinobi
Summary: This is my first fan fiction. It is an AU where Ichigo's mother is still alive, he's still a fairly happy kid and isn't so much of a grouch. Oh and he and Orihime are eventually going to wind up together, hence the "Romance" category.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: This is my first fan fiction so please tell me if there is anything I need to do to make it better. OK, first I guess I better give you the rundown as to what's going to be happening in this fan fiction. First of all this is going to be an AU and Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki, isn't dead and I plan on having Ichigo and Orihime get to together. So that means that Ichigo and the rest of his family are going to seem a little out of character from what they are in the actual series and by that I mean they are going to seem a little too cheerful for some people tastes. However, Ichigo and the rest of the family are going to be more aware of the spirit realm. I'm pretty sure that Masaki had some spiritual power. I mean she married a man who used to be a soul reaper for god's sake. Also don't rag on me because I choose to use the English names for some of the stuff (ex: spirit energy – reiatsu). It's just easier for me because I have to deal with stupid Word 2007 and the funky spell-check and it sometime changing languages on me.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH. It is an intellectual property of Tite Kubo and is licensed in the United States by Viz Media LLC.

Setting: 6 years prior to the main story

It was a little before four o'clock and Ichigo was waiting on his mom to come pick him up from the dojo. It was raining today. Then just as Ichigo started to get bored, he saw his mom come in through the door. However, there was one other person he wasn't expecting to come. "Hi Mommy. Hey Daddy, what are you doing here? I thought you were busy at the clinic today." "I was but I got everything done quicker than I expected. And does a father need an excuse to see his son?" "Oh, where're Yuzu and Karin?" "They're playing at one of their friends right now, Honey." "Oh, OK." "So, you ready to go, Ichigo?" "Yeah."

With that, they started walking back home in the rain, Masaki away from the road, Ichigo in the middle, and Isshin on the road side of the sidewalk. On the way home, a car splashed through a puddle and pretty much soaked Isshin. Masaki and Ichigo had to try as hard as they could to suppress their laughter. "So you think that's pretty funny, huh?" "Ha ha ha, Daddy's all wet now!" "Well you do have to admit, dear, you do look pretty silly right now. Here, let me at least clean off your face and we can get the rest after we get home."

While they were walking, Ichigo suddenly stopped and was looking out at the river. "Ichigo, honey, what are you looking at?" "There's a girl standing out by the river and… Mommy, is something wrong?" "Isshin, dear, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" "Yeah, I am. Take Ichigo with you; go get Yuzu and Karin and head to Urahara's. Tell him what's going on. I have a feeling this is going to get ugly."

Then a deep, booming, ominous voice spoke up (AN: Guess who), "So, all **_three_** of you can see me, the boy maybe not so much. This must be my lucky day, to encounter not one but **_three_** people with high spirit energy and by the way you talked, there may be even more. Ha, ha ha, ha!"

"You disgusting monster! You won't be laying a single claw on my family!" Then Isshin did something that surprised the hollow. He transformed into a soul reaper.

"Masaki, go…"

"So, you're a soul reaper. This day just keeps getting better and better."

"Daddy!!"

"Everything's going be fine son. Just go with Mommy. I'll catch up to you later after I take care of this monster."

"Ha! As if one pitiful soul reaper could ever hope to defeat the great Grand Fisher! Besides, look at that pitiful excuse for a zanpaku-tō. You couldn't even to kill a fly with something so small. "

"We'll see about that."

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Meanwhile…

"Mommy, is Daddy going to be all right? And, what was that thing back there?"

"Daddy's going to be just fine, (I hope). As for that thing, I'll let Daddy tell you what it is when he gets back. Also, don't tell Yuzu or Karin what's going on. Your father wouldn't want them to worry."

'Don't you dare die on us, Isshin.'

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"Ah! Damn you! That hurt! You're pretty good, Soul Reaper. This may actually give me a challenge for once."

"Well, what do you expect? Even thought I'm a little rusty from being out of the game for about ten plus years, I'm still as strong as when I was a Captain in the 13 court guards. Second, it's not 'Soul Reaper'. It's Isshin Kurosaki, M.D."

'Damn. I probably shouldn't have told him that.'

"Oh, I'll remember that name, up until I eat your soul. Ho, ho, ho."

"You won't get the chance because I'm going to finish you off here and now."

"Oh, I think not… Ah!!!! You just destroyed my main body! I never thought I would ever have to flee from a soul reaper. Consider your self lucky. I will be back someday and next time, I'll get you AND your family."

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Setting: At Urahara Shoten, 15 minutes later.

"Momma, where's Daddy?"

"He should be here any moment, Karin." 'I hope.'

"Hey, sorry I'm late."

"Daddy!!"

"Don't you EVER scare me like that again! Do you hear me, Isshin Kurosaki?"

"Momma, why are you crying?"

"It's nothing, Yuzu. Daddy was just acting stupid. Now, why don't you go into the other room with Karin and Ichigo for a little bit, ok? Mommy and Daddy have to talk… OK, Isshin what happened? And Kisuke, Tessai, I know you're listening so you might as well come on in."

"What would give you the impression that I would be listening?"

"Well, Kisuke, they're paper doors. You stand in front of one; you're going to make a shadow. Second, I could sense your and Tessai's spiritual pressure."

"I apologize, Masaki, but I was telling Kisuke that perhaps we should wait until you two were done talking to get the details."

"Don't worry about it, Tessai."

"So, Isshin, Masaki, what hollow did you run into?"

"He calls himself Grand Fisher."

"Eyuck. I've heard of him. Real nasty character. He uses a lure disguised as a whole and those who are able to see it he knows have high spirit energy and then devours them. He's been doing this for the last 49 years and every soul reaper that's tried to defeat him has failed. And what do you means, 'calls his self'? Shouldn't you have said 'called his self'? Oh no… Don't tell he got away."

"Just as I was about to finish him off, he turned tail and ran off. But before he left, he said he would be back. Didn't say when, just that he would back. Hopefully, it won't be for a long time."

"Same here, buddy. Also, Masaki said Ichigo could see the lure and mistook it for a girl at first. Have you talked to him about it yet?"

"Damn it. I didn't want to get him involved in my old life, at least not till he was old enough to defend his self, but there just seems to be no way around it."

"Isshin, you and I both knew this would happen eventually. So don't blame yourself for something that you had no control over, Dear. But now that it has, we have a responsibility, as his parents, to tell him. I'll go get Ichigo."

"All right, fine."

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"Ichigo, what's going on with Momma and Daddy?"

"I don't know, Yuzu."

"Ichigo, honey, can you come in here for a moment please. Daddy and I want to talk to you about something."

"Ichigo, are you in trouble?"

'I hope I'm not.'

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"PLEASE, tell me I'm not in trouble."

"Ichigo, what could ever give you the idea that you were in trouble?"

"'Cause you always say you want to talk to me when I did something I shouldn't have."

"You're not in trouble. There are some very important things that your mother and I have to tell you about."

"Like what?"

"Well, like what I did before I was a doctor."

They then proceeded to tell Ichigo about soul reapers, hollows and all other various manners of spiritual beings.

"Wow! I knew you were great before, Daddy, but that. Is. Awesome!"

"Remember, Ichigo, you can only tell Yuzu and Karin about you being able to see ghosts, and that's **_if_** they start seeing them too."

"Why is that?"

"…Because if we tell them too much it might scare them."

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AN: Sorry for those of you who were expecting Orihime to show up. She's not in this chapter. This was the prologue. This was something I had to do in order to set up the rest of the story. However, she will appear next chapter, I promise.


	2. Chapter 1: Awww

Author's Note: First of all I would like to say thank you to my good friend, dogsfang, for his advice. You have been a great source encouragement for me to finally get started with my writing. Secondly, thank you to the people who added me to your story alerts, though more reviews would be appreciated. Scratch that. I just got a new review right now. Thirdly, we now move on to standard operating procedure.

Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH. It is an intellectual property of Tite Kubo and is licensed in the United States by Viz Media LLC.

It's been almost a year since Grand Fisher ran off with his tail between his legs and things are finally getting back to normal for the Kurosaki household, well about as normal as it _**can be**_ for a family that can see ghosts. It's around 4 o'clock, so school's let out for the day and the kids are either already home or on their way there. However one person, a ten year old boy with bright orange hair, was running a little late walking home from school, so of course he was running, and panting, but was most noticeable about him was that he had a big grin on his face. Now for those who knew him, this might not seem that much out of the norm, because he was a pretty happy kid. However, he was grinning for a different reason today. As he was running, he saw one of his dad friends talking to a very pretty dark-skinned lady, and he decided to stop for a second to say hello.

"Hi, Mr. Urahara. Who's that you're talking to?"

"Oh, hi Ichigo. I didn't see you there for a second."

"Who's the kid, Kisuke? He seems to know you."

"This is Ichigo, Isshin's kid."

"Really? So, Ichigo, how's your dad doing? I haven't seen him in a while."

"He's fine, and who are you?"

"Oh that's right. Where are my manners? I'm Yoruichi, Yoruichi Shihoin."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Then Ichigo looked down at a wrist watch and saw what time it was. It was almost 4:30.

"Oh sorry, I have to go or else I'm going to be late for dinner."

Then he broke out into a run again and before he was out of ear shot he yelled,

"It was nice meeting you!"

After he was gone, Kisuke and Yoruichi started talking again.

"So that's Isshin's kid, huh? I could tell from his spirit energy that they were related somehow, but…"

"Yeah, I know. It's amazing that a kid his age can have so much spirit energy. Just imagine if he was a soul reaper…"

"He'd be a force to be reckoned with."

Ichigo finally made it home after pretty much running nonstop. 'I hope I'm not late for dinner. Mom said she was making her special meatloaf.' He checked his watch and let out a sigh of relief, 'Just in time.'

"Mom, Dad, I'm home."

"You were running a little late today, Ichigo."

"I know. I stopped to talk to Mr. Urahara for a little bit. He was talking to this lady named Yoruichi. She said she knows you, Dad."

"So, Yoruichi's finally back in town. It seems she got my message."

"How exactly do you know her dad?"

"She's an old friend from before I became a doctor."

It took him a second but Ichigo understood what his father meant, "Oh… So what did you ask her come here for?"

"Well, I asked her come here to help teach you how to use your spirit energy, maybe teach you how to use a few basic kido. Anyway, how was school? Anything interesting happen?" He said this last part in a way that you knew he knew more than he let on.

"Uh… Nothing," Ichigo said this while averting his eyes trying to avoid the question because he knew that his parents already knew the answer.

Then his mother spoke up, "Ichigo, you might as well tell us what happened. Your principal called earlier. He said you got into a fight. That isn't like you."

Seeing that he was already caught before he could even, he decided to tell what happened.

(Flash Back)

"Please, leave me alone!" a young girl cried. However, her tormenters simply carried on.

"Hey! She said she wanted to be left alone."

"What are you going to do about it, you little punk?" while grabbing and pulling Ichigo up by his shirt.

"This," he then proceeded to kick the older kid in a place that caused him to drop Ichigo and double over in pain.

"You need some help, Ichigo?"

"Hey Tatsuki! Yeah, I think I might because this guy's buddies are coming over."

"Well then, let's get to it."

The older kids were just laughing, thinking, "What could 2 ten year olds possibly hope to do against us?" They were severely underestimating them.

Ichigo and Tatsuki proceeded to beat the snot out of them. Then once everything was said and done, they went and checked on the girl.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Y… yeah," she said, in a slightly nervous voice.

"Oh, yeah… That's right. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki and this is my friend, Tatsuki Arisawa."

"I'm Orihime, Orihime Inoue."

"Nice to meet you, Orihime. Why were those guys picking on you anyway?"

"They… They said… They said they didn't like my hair."

"What?! Why would anybody say that? You have pretty hair."

At this comment from Ichigo, Orihime blushed and giggled a little bit. "You're the first person besides my big brother to say that my hair was pretty."

Then like clockwork, a teacher finally decided to show up, "What is going on here? Why are those kids on the ground? Who did this?"

Then a little tattle-tale popped his head and said, "Um…It was Ichigo and Tatsuki."

"Kurosaki, Arisawa, I might have expected something like this from someone else but you two? You better have a good explanation."

(End Flashback)

"Well, that awfully sweet of you, Ichigo," said Masaki

"Yes, I do believe our little boy is becoming a man, Masaki. Also I believe there is more going on here than what Ichigo is telling us, isn't there."

"I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's pretty obvious that something good happened after that. Also, it doesn't explain why you were late getting home," said Isshin.

"Yeah, Ichi-nii, why _were_ you late getting home?" said Karin, with an obvious hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Karin, when did you get in here? I thought you were still playing in your room?"

"Oh, about part where Ichi-nii said that girl's hair was pretty," said Karin.

"Yeah, Ichi-nii, what happened after that?"

"Not you too, Yuzu," said Ichigo, surprised by the fact that not one but both of his little sisters were spying on him.

"I think you might as well tell us, Ichigo. We're probably going to find out one way or another."

"You too, Mom!" Then Ichigo grumbled a little bit in a way that you could tell he was irritated, "Well, alright. What happened was…"

(Flashback)

It was near the end of the school day and classes were about to let out.

"Hey, Orihime, me and Tatsuki were thinking that maybe we should see that you get home safe and those guys don't try to bug you again."

"Oh… you… you don't have to go through all that trouble for me."

"No, it's alright. We insist," said Tatsuki.

"Well, if you say so…"

Then they all started walking home together until they got to Tatsuki's house.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, Ichigo, Orihime!"

"Um… well, I guess I'll be going now. I imagine you probably need to get home too, Ichigo. Didn't you say your house was in the opposite direction of mine?"

"Nah, it's all right. And besides, I want to make sure you get home safe."

Afterwards, Ichigo and Orihime started walking towards the apartment where she lived with her brother, but Ichigo, didn't know this.

"So, um… you mentioned that you had a brother, Orihime. What about the rest of your family?"

"Oh, uh… It's just me and my big brother, Sora. It's been that way for as long as I can remember."

"Oh. Okay."

"So, uh, here's my apartment, and, um," then she kissed him on the cheek, "thank you."

(End Flashback)

"Aw, that was sweet," said Masaki.

"Oooh!" was the reply from Yuzu.

Then Karin was practically singing, "Ichi's got a girlfriend! Ichi's got a girlfriend!"

Isshin was also nodding his head in agreement and a big smirk on his face, "Yes, I do believe Karin is right."

Ichigo was trying to hide his face, which was quickly turning red, and groaning out of embarrassment. That was when Masaki spoke up, "Alright, I think we've teased him enough," she said with a bit of a light giggle at the end. Then she continued, "Ichigo, I think that you should ask Orihime if she'd like to come over for dinner some time, and her brother as well if he's able. Do you think that's alright Isshin?"

"What do I think? I think it's a great idea!" This elicited another embarrassed groan from Ichigo.

"Bu… but…but I just met her, mom!" said Ichigo, trying to figure out some out of an embarrassing situation.

"Well, just think of it as getting to know her better."

Author's Note: This last little section after the last flashback took me forever to figure out how I wanted to write it. That was because, well with homework, plus also reading other people's work when I'm bored, it kind of eats up my time, in addition to not being that good of a descriptive writer. Hell, if I was good enough to write and/or draw manga, I'd do that. That's because I picture a scene kind of like one would be watching a television show and we usually don't take in every individual detail. We process the big picture, with the dialogue being the meat and potatoes. I had originally written the prologue kind of like a play script with only the dialogue and who was saying them next to the lines. However, I found out that you can't do that on .


End file.
